St’uxwtéws Bonaparte First Nation (SBFN) has held several workshops through our St’uxwtéws Warrior project including: ‘Coming of Age’ what to expect and how to lean into this time with knowledge and grace, Drum making, Rattle making, Ribbon clothing making, language classes, Youth mental health, Balanced eating and cooking and more.  All our workshops have been full, minus one drum class where some people were too ill to attend.  We have been consistently impressed by the enrollment success and turn out of our events.  Aside from workshops, our weekly groups have filled up beyond capacity forcing us to find an alternative location.

One of the largest challenges for this project has been space.  This community lost their community hall last year to arson, it was built in 1940 and was used for literally all events, wakes, and classes.  Without it, my groups are forced to compete for boardroom space (which is not a super child-friendly environment) or using the Quonset which in the winter is so cold and to heat it is very expensive and not totally effective (as it is a giant tent).  We are looking at renting the community hall in Cache Creek in January for our language classes.  Our workshop designed around substance use awareness was full the first time, so we offered it again and it was full again, 26 people each time.  We even had some parents that originally were dropping off their youth but ending up coming in and staying through the entire workshop, receiving the same valuable information.  Without dedicated space for these sorts of classes and events, it seems to be a constant challenge with bookings and appropriate environments.

We are pleased with the willingness of the youth to trust our organization and to lean into the learning and teachings of our group discussion topics. Some of what we discuss is not easy, a lot of self-assessment, accountability and communication barriers come up, but we are so pleased that this far in, we only have 1 youth we are concerned about, and we have seen so many successes.  It is hard to believe that only months ago, their future was bleak and their families and bands had all but given up on them. They have gone from homeless to housed and not only housed but most have been embraced by their families again, their addictions have been managed, and they are learning what it takes to be healthy adults, to stay off the streets, and out of the dealer traps, pure success!